The More Things Change
by Amber477
Summary: It's been ten years since high school graduation, but the gang's all here for Little J's homecoming from Paris. But is it really wedded bliss for S and D? And can B and C ever put their past behind them? And what's this about C being a daddy? XOXO- R/R!
1. Chapter 1

The More Things Change…

The More Things Change...

--

Chapter One

--

Ten Years After High School Graduation

**--**

**Gossip Girl here. Did ya miss me? Ever since high school graduation, our little Royal Family seems to have broken up. C and N hit up the West Coast, and word is N's been romancing a string of Hollywood hotties but is newly single. Hmm…maybe because his true soulmate's been far, far away all this time? Who do I mean? Wait and see…**

**C's had his share of drama of the baby-daddy variety, but apparently has become quite the father figure. And word is he's still carrying a major torch for a certain Upper East Side princess turned tycoon- ready to face your past, B? The British isles can't hide you forever...and neither can your quickie marriage to a man twice your age. **

**The only true happy ending I have to report so far is the Brooklyn-based S and D, whose wedding bells rang right after college. Yawn. Come on, S. I know you've got something for me...like why you've been skipping your midday martini lately?**

**And of course, the reason for this happy reunion- Little J's homecoming from a five-year stint in Paris. B's mommie dearest seems to think Little J's a visionary; but I've heard she's had her eye on more than just French clothes. But no true love yet, J? What's she waiting for? **

**Leave it to me to find out. You know you love me. XOXO Gossip Girl**

**--**

"Well, well. Serena Van der Woodsen-Humphrey. Is that what I have to call you now?"

Serena spun around, her face breaking into a wide smile.

"B!"

"In the flesh." Blair removed her huge designer sunglasses, grinning.

"Look at you, all fabulous!" Serena giggled, throwing her arms around her best friend.

"Hey, watch the clothes." Blair laughed, hugging her back.

"Ladies- your table?" Their waiter broke up the reunion, pointing towards a table near the window in the hotel restaurant of the Ritz-Carlton.

The two girls sat down, just taking each other in for a moment.

"You look so different. So domestic," Blair finally said.

"Is that bad?"

The waiter brought over their drinks, a martini for Blair and a water for Serena.

Blair thoughtfully stirred the olive in her drink.

"No, not bad. Just different. You don't want anything else to drink?"

Serena smiled, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"Umm, no."

"Dan disapproves of your martini habit?" Blair rolled her eyes.

"Not exactly." Serena smiled mischievously, taking a sip.

"What then?"

"Come on, Blair."

Blair choked, her eyes wide.

"You're pregnant?"

"Shhh! I just found out yesterday. I haven't even told Dan yet."

"Serena! This is huge!"

Serena smiled.

"Yeah, just don't tell Gossip Girl. I'll be her favorite topic again."

"I guess she got all old and boring like the rest of us. I wonder if she still keeps that site up."

**--**

**I'm not going to say that didn't hurt, B. Old? That's why they made Botox, and you should know. Boring? Never.**

**--**

"Probably someone else took over her throne."

"Anyway, who cares about her? You're pregnant?"

"Yup. It's so weird. I know Dan's always wanted kids, but I was never sure."

"So what happened? Miss a pill or something?"

"B! I'm happy about this!"

"All right, all right. You can tell me if you're not, you know."

"No, I really am. Just don't say anything. Dan gets here today, and I really want to tell him myself."

"Of course. It will be great to see everybody again. I never really heard who's all coming."

"I know Dan's mom and dad are coming. I think Dan invited Vanessa too, so if she's not off shooting some documentary in India, she'll be here."

"Ugh. He's still friends with her?"

"Yeah. Whatever. Oh, and Nate and Chuck are flying in from California,"

Blair's eyebrows went together, "Chuck's coming? Here?"

"Yeah—is that not okay?"

"It's just- I haven't seen him since graduation."

"He's really changed, Blair."

"Ohh-kay."

"No, seriously. Did you know he has a kid?"

Blair set her drink down with a clatter, "What?"

"Yeah. You missed a lot while you were away, B. Chuck got married a couple of years ago."

"Married? Chuck Bass? No fucking way." Blair blinked in shock.

"I only met her once or twice. She was nice. An actress he met out in California. Anyway, they had a kid- a little boy, Theodore. He's four now."

"Cute name." Blair grinned a little tightly.

"Yeah. But it didn't work out with them. They got divorced last year. They split custody. Chuck was really broken up about it."

"Wow. That's a shock. I thought Chuck swore off having feelings."

"You may be surprised. It's been ten years, Blair. Maybe he deserves a second chance."

Blair didn't reply, taking another long drink.

Serena cleared her throat, "So how's married bliss for you and…James, right?"

"James McCallister. He basically owns London. It's fine." Blair looked out the window, fiddling with her huge diamond ring.

"Just fine?"

"Great. Fantastic. He wanted to come meet all of you, but he couldn't get off work." Blair said, smiling a little too brightly.

Serena nodded, but didn't look convinced.

"You have judging face because he's old, right?" Blair sighed.

"I don't have judging face. If you're happy-"

"I am. And so he's old, who cares? Oh, big shock, Blair Waldorf has daddy issues."

"Blair-"

"Besides, it could be worse. That could have been me carrying Chuck's devil spawn. I'm actually glad he ripped out my heart and stomped all over it. Perfect graduation present. Really a fitting ending to our little saga."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay seeing him?"

"Of course! Don't be silly." Blair waved her hand airily.

Serena suddenly looked over her shoulder, waving enthusiastically.

"There's Dan! Finally. Over here, babe!"

"More like baby-daddy." Blair grinned.

Serena shook her head warningly as Dan approached the table. Blair turned around, raising her eyebrows.

"Dan Humphrey, all grown up. Finally, those LL Bean pants and grandpa sweaters are age appropriate."

"Hey, Blair." Dan smiled, knowing insulting him was practically a term of endearment from Blair.

"It's good to see you." She got up, laughing and hugging him.

"Doesn't she look so Euro-chic, honey?" Serena laughed, kissing Dan on the cheek.

"If I knew what that meant, I'd probably agree." Dan shrugged, ordering a beer from the waiter.

"Speaking of Euro-chic, when does Jenny's plane get in?" Blair asked.

"Tonight at seven. I thought we could all meet at Butter downtown. Get drinks, dinner, catch up." Serena said.

"How long are you going to be able to stay, Blair?"

"I could only get away from work for a long weekend, so I have to leave Tuesday."

"Oh, B, that sucks! I was hoping we'd at least fit a shopping trip in- Saturday, maybe?"

"Yeah- you're going to need some new clothes soon." Blair said with a wink.

Dan looked between them.

"You need more clothes? How is that possible?"

"Blair's just kidding." Serena said, giving her a warning glance.

Blair smiled. It was good to be home.

--


	2. I Should Have Known

The More Things Change…

The More Things Change…

--

Chapter Two

--

"How long are you going to be gone, daddy?" Theodore Bass sat in his reading chair, looking thoroughly put out.

"Just for the weekend, bud. You won't even know I'm gone." Chuck ruffled his son's hair, rechecking his plane ticket.

"Will you bring me something from New York?"

"Sure. What do you want?"

"The Empire State Building." Theo smiled, showing his missing teeth.

"You've been reading that New York book with mom, huh?"

"Yup."

"Well, then I'm so bursting with pride that I have no choice. I must bring you the Empire State Building."

"Yay!" Theo threw his arms around Chuck's leg, hanging onto him as he packed.

"You are not helping." Chuck laughed.

"Pack me! I want to come with you!"

"CHUCK!" Nate bellowed from downstairs.

"Yeah?"

"Amy's here. Are you almost ready?"

"Yeah, I'll be right down," Chuck looked down at his son, "Hear that, buddy? Your mom's here."

"I don't want to go with her! I want to go with you!" Theo wailed, still clinging tightly to Chuck's leg.

"Sorry, kiddo. Daddy's got to see some old friends."

"Why?"

"Because…you know, that's a good question. I guess I'll figure it out when I get there." Chuck pried Theo off his leg, swinging him up into his arms.

He treacherously balanced his son on one arm and pulled his suitcase with the other, finally making his way downstairs to find Nate and Amy catching up.

"Hey, Ames." Chuck said, setting a pouting Theo down.

Amy gave him a stiff one-armed hug, looking down at their son, "Did you have fun with your dad?"

"Of course! And he's going to bring me the Empire State Building!"

"Wow. Still making promises you can't keep, babe?" Amy smiled tightly at Chuck.

"Not to him." Chuck snapped.

Nate looked between them, clapping his hands together. "Well, Chuck and I should get going. We'll see you when we get back?"

"Of course. Bye, Nate," Amy took Theo's hand, leading him to the front door. Nate gave her a small wave and started carrying he and Chuck's luggage to the car.

"Bye, bud." Chuck patted Theo's head, but his son was obviously more than a little put out about having to leave and didn't reply.

Chuck and Amy watched Theo run to her car.

"Chuck?" Amy turned to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"This little reunion…is she going to be there?"

"Who?"

Amy didn't say anything, her eyes glassy as she hurriedly looked away. "Forget it. Have a good time."

"I will."

She walked away without another word, leaving Nate to shoot Chuck a puzzled look.

"What's her problem?" Nate asked, slamming the trunk of his Audi.

"Who knows?" Chuck shrugged, getting into the car as well.

"Chuck-"

"Just drive, okay?"

--

**What's wrong, Bass? Never told N the whole story about your little overseas jaunt? Well, don't worry. I'll fill everyone in…**

--

London

three years ago…

--

"To my oldest friend Chuck, the movie producer- may your casting couch always be occupied by hot young starlets." Blair grinned, sucking the olive off the toothpick in her martini after she clinked Chuck's glass.

"I'll drink to that." Chuck grinned, downing his scotch.

He stared at Blair's mouth wrap around the toothpick for a second too long, and she raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, no sir."

"What?"

"Don't give me sex face."

"This." Blair narrowed her eyes and looked up at Chuck with a furrowed brow and pursed lips. It was a pretty uncanny imitation.

"I was not giving you sex face." Chuck laughed.

"Well, good. Because I have a boyfriend."

"Oh, yeah- isn't he like seventy? I called Serena last week, and she said you've gone all septuagenarian."

"She can talk. At least James doesn't live in Brooklyn." Blair wrinkled her nose.

"I can't believe they got married. You realize Dan fucking Humphrey is my brother in law now?" Chuck shook his head.

"Gross. They'll probably have like twenty-five kids. Are you dating anyone?"

Chuck looked down at his left hand- was Blair intentionally being stupid?

But then he saw that he hadn't put his wedding ring back on that morning. His finger was bare. He thought of Amy's wrinkled-up, pissed-off face the morning he left, her blotchy skin and tired eyes, her constant uniform of stained sweatpants. He thought of Theo shrieking red-faced until five a.m. in the morning.

Who was he kidding? What had happened to his life?

"Chuck- hello?"

"S-Sorry. No, nothing serious." Chuck couldn't tell what was worse- the lie or how little guilt he felt as he said it.

"Your true love's out there somewhere, Bass." Blair grinned, touching the back of his hand and sending currents of electricity through his skin.

"I know." He looked at her.

Blair looked back at him, almost nervous.

"You want another round?"

"Sure."

Blair tapped on the bar with her long manicured nail, and Chuck just stared. She looked flawless- perfect make-up, curled hair, tight black and white dress, killer heels. Something about Blair all dressed up always made Chuck want to strip her down and see her without all of this. He was one of the few people who knew what she looked like when she first woke up in the morning- all sleepy-eyed and gorgeous- and he was practically dying to just reach out and-

"Why are you being so quiet?" Blair asked, swishing the olive around in her new martini.

Don't suck it off again, Chuck silently begged.

"It's just- you look amazing."

Blair shrugged, "You think? James has me doing Pilates. Says he doesn't want a trophy wife who's not hot."

"Seriously?"

"I think he was kidding, but I'm not entirely sure."

"Come on, Blair- when have you not been hot?"

Blair set down her drink.

"Chuck, seriously. Let's not go there, okay?"

"Where?"

"The past."

Chuck looked at her, not a trace of a smile on his face for once. "Breaking up with you was the biggest mistake I ever made."

Blair felt a shiver go through her. His voice always her want to do very bad things. But any tingly feeling he gave her was quickly replaced with anger.

"Which time, Chuck? The time you cheated on me junior year? Or the time you said I was suffocating you right before college? Or our college fuckbuddy phase? Because as I recall, you broke things off with us every time, so you're going to have to be more specific."

"I don't know what I can say other than I'm sorry."

"There is nothing else you can say. It's over. Beyond over. We can be friends. That's all I'm interested in."

"I'm not trying to hit on you, Blair- I'm just trying to apologize."

"Well, thank you for your apology. Can we talk about something else?"

"I just wanted you to know that it was me who was the idiot. I was an asshole."

Blair took a long sip.

"Yeah, you really were."

And now you're being an asshole again. To Amy. Chuck swallowed his whole tumbler glass, hoping that alcohol would silence his pesky conscience like always.

When they stood up from the bar an hour later, Blair teetered slightly on her heels, grabbing his arm.

"I might be a little drunk." She laughed as he helped her into her Valentino coat. Chuck knew it was a little metro, but he always checked labels. And Blair's clothes never disappointed.

"Don't embarrass me in public, alkie." Chuck grinned back.

"Do you want to take a walk? See London?"

"Sure. The last time I came here, I was like six. I think my dad bought me a Union Jack flag and stuffed me in a hotel room for two days while he went to meetings. But I could see Big Ben out of the window."

"God, your childhood was depressing."

"Whose wasn't?"

"That's true. I think my mom had me on a diet by the time I was that age."

"I remember- you were always the worst person to swap desserts with in school."

Blair laughed in remembrance, and they said together in little-Chuck voice:

"Celery and peanut butter? AGAIN?"

They both dissolved into laughter, walking outside into the cool London evening.

"You were such a little prick, even then." Blair giggled, lacing her arm through his.

"Is it weird that that doesn't feel like it was that long ago?"

"I know. It seems like just yesterday I was throwing up from Georgina's cigarettes in the sixth grade bathroom." Blair clapped a hand to her heart in remembrance.

"I had FORGOTTEN about that! I had to give you like five packs of gum so your mom wouldn't smell it on your breath." Chuck shook his head.

"And Serena made me go to her house to Febreze my uniform after school."

"I wonder what Whore-gina's up to these days." Chuck said as they passed through a still-busy Trafalgar Square.

"Probably dictatorship in eastern Europe or something. Who knows."

Chuck snickered, helping Blair walk across cobblestones in her sky-high heels.

"How's Nate?" Blair asked, having made it safely across.

"He's good. Kind of drifting. He was the Vice-President of my company for awhile, but he doesn't really have a head for it. I mean, he's not stupid, he's just not cutthroat enough to handle it, you know?"

"Yeah. Nate never did anything wrong, unless one of us persuaded him into it," Blair smiled with a vague fondness, "Did you have to fire him?"

"He quit. Last year. He's kind of just been coasting by on the trust fund for awhile. Dating randoms. I still don't think he knows what he wants to do with his life."

"Poor Nate."

"I guess. I think he sets his expectations for life way too high. Nobody ever promised us we'd have happy, fulfilled lives, you know?"

"Tell me about it. I mean, I like it here. And James is good for me. But it's just- I'm not changing the world or anything by making turquoise belts the new statement piece. And he's not exactly the love of my life. But it's what I got. And it's good enough."

"What would be your perfect life?" Chuck asked, as they stood waiting for the pedestrian walk sign on a near-empty road.

"I have no idea. I've spent all of it trying to live up to what everyone else wants for me. I've never made one decision by myself, that wasn't pre-approved by someone."

"Except dating me."

Blair considered this for a moment.

"That's true. That was definitely not pre-approved."

"Did I ever make you happy?"

She turned to look at him, her brown eyes softening slightly.

"Of course. That's why I kept coming back for more abuse, I guess. It's like I always knew you were going to do something to ruin it…but while it lasted…those were the best times of my life."

"Me too." Chuck said, not realizing until now how long he'd been missing her.

"But you did ruin it. You ruined everything." Blair's eyes were suddenly glassy, and he didn't know whether it was from the alcohol or actual emotion.

"Blair-" His hands were on her arms, and before she knew what she was doing, she was kissing him and he was kissing her back.

--

She woke up the next morning in his hotel room alone. When she checked with the front desk, they said Chuck Bass had taken a limo to the airport hours ago.

Blair practically collapsed into a chair in the lobby, the sudden proximity and subsequent loss of him hitting her like a punch in the gut. She should have known this was coming. That's all that Chuck ever left her with-- I should have known this time wouldn't be different. He said he loved her last night, but it was never as easy for him to love her in the morning.

She always told herself not to trust him, but always ended up in the same place. Believing he had changed.

But Chuck Bass never changed.

Blair's cell phone rang, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. It was her office, with some insipid shoe crisis.

"I'll be right there." Blair said, forcing a familiar fake smile on her face and snapping the phone shut.

The mask was firmly back in place. And the only person she ever let see behind it had left her again.

--


	3. Her Sabrina Moment

The More Things Change…

The More Things Change

--

Chapter Three

--

Serena stood in front of the mirror in her bra and underwear, looking at her stomach. She didn't look any different, she thought running a hand over her skin. Still flat and tan as always. But there was a baby in there. Dan's baby. She smiled, pulling her long wet hair out of its towel turban and shaking it out.

She heard Dan's cell phone ring in the next room (the boring ring that came with the phone- Dan would never deal with changing ring tones) and his familiar voice, slightly muffled, through the walls.

Serena started getting dressed for the night out with everyone, kind of enjoying having this little secret. Blair aside, nobody knew. Not even her mom. She needed to call her mom- she'd be thrilled. It was weird to picture perfect, glamorous Lily being called grandmother. Or Chuck's dad getting some cute grandpa nickname like Pops or Pappy. Picturing Bart Bass being called Pappy made Serena laugh out loud as she shimmied into a silver BCBG dress.

Dan sounded excited, whatever he was talking about. She opened the door to hear him say, "Thank you so much. I'll talk to my wife and call you back."

"Talk to me about what?" Serena asked, sitting down delicately so she wouldn't wrinkle her dress.

Dan clicked his phone shut, unable to stop smiling.

"They want me to go on a book tour! Starting next month!"

"What? Where?"

"The publisher is really trying to push this memoir-angle to kind of solidify their name in the book world, and they said my book is one of their strongest new releases! They said I would travel for four months, all over the United States. Even Texas."

Serena forced a smile on her face.

"I am so proud of you, sweetheart," She hugged him tightly.

Dan pulled back, brow furrowed,

"You sound disappointed or something."

"No! Of course not! That's amazing. I mean, I'll miss you, but-"

"Miss me? You don't want to come? I mean, I'm sure you could get some time off."

--

**Yes, dear readers, believe it or not, S is actually working for a living these days as an event planner. Apparently all those years watching Blair coordinate shindigs paid off.**

--

"I can't take time off now."

Dan sighed, taking her hands and sitting down on the bed.

"Serena, tell me what's going on."

"I'm just ruining everything."

"How are you ruining anything?" Dan was getting exasperated.

"I'm pregnant. Two months along. I found out yesterday at the doctor." Serena said in a rush.

Dan let out a huge rush of breath, blinking a few times.

"Pregnant? A baby?"

"Yeah."

"But we weren't even trying- I mean, I thought-"

"Nothing works 100 of the time. And we haven't been that careful." Serena shrugged, trying to read his face.

"I just- I mean, I've always wanted kids-"

"But just not now." Serena said, her eyes welling with tears from raging pregnancy hormones.

"No, I didn't say that!"

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm just- give me two seconds to process this, okay?"

"Don't get mad at me! I didn't want this to happen either!"

Dan sighed. "Honey, calm down. I'm not saying I don't want this. Of course I do. You're my wife, I love you, I want to have kids with you. I'm just wrapping my head around this."

They sat there in silence for a moment; Serena swallowing hard so she wouldn't start blubbering. This whole with-child thing sucked already.

"So I'll call them and tell them I can't do the tour." Dan finally spoke, getting out his cell phone.

Serena grabbed his hand, "No, no, don't do that! I want you to go—this is your dream. This is what you've always wanted."

He took her face in his hands.

"_You're_ what I've always wanted."

She rolled her eyes, smiling. "That was cheesy."

"It's true."

She kissed his forehead, "Go on the tour. I can handle this by myself. I'll keep working until I get embarrassingly huge. I'll keep myself busy until you get back."

"No way! Who's going to get your weird pregnancy food? Who's going to go with you to the doctor?"

"My mom lives twenty minutes away, Dan. She'll help me."

He opened his mouth to protest, but she put her hand over his mouth.

"Go. You'll regret it forever if you don't."

"I will not."

Serena smiled, but shook her head. "Take the weekend and think about it at least. I don't want you to miss out on anything that will help your book. We'll decide on Monday what we'll do, okay?"

He nodded, and they both looked down at her stomach.

"Our baby." She giggled.

"We've got to pick the best name ever." Dan said, his mind already whirring.

"No weird literary names, please! Our little boy is not going to be Faulkner or Tennessee, okay?"

"And they say you don't know literature. I'm so proud." Dan grinned, kissing her.

--

Blair returned her thousandth Blackberry message of the morning, stepping off the elevator and right into Nate.

"Blair?" Nate caught her by the arms.

"Oh my god! Nate!" She hugged him hard, both amused and comforted by the fact that Nate's appearance had not changed one bit.

"How are you?"

"I'm doing great- just a little jetlagged, nothing major. You?"

"We just got in, actually, so yeah, I'm feeling pretty tired too."

"We being you and-"

"Chuck, yeah. Oh, there he is."

Blair steeled herself before following Nate's eyes to Chuck hanging up his cellphone and walking over.

"Nathaniel, you wouldn't believe-" Chuck stopped short when he saw her, "Blair."

"Chuck." She said, her eyes barely flicking to him before looking back at Nate.

"You look-"

"Different? Good. Because I've changed." She said shortly, readjusting her purse strap on her shoulder, "Good to see you, Nate. Get some rest before dinner, okay? We'll catch up then." She kissed Nate's cheek, and started to walk back towards the elevator, just wanting to get away as quickly as possible.

"I'll catch up to you in a second, Nate," Chuck said, slipping between the elevator doors just before they closed.

Blair didn't even so much as shoot him a withering glance, just jammed the number nineteen button so hard it almost cracked, and typed furiously on her phone's little keyboard.

"Blair."

"Don't."

"Please, let me explain-"

"You know what, FUCK you." She spat, throwing her phone back in her purse and rounding on him, "You had a wife? And a baby? I knew you had no morals, Chuck, but that was a whole new level, even for you."

"I didn't come to London to sleep with you, Blair! I didn't think any of that was going to happen!"

"Well, then, I guess that makes everything okay." She hissed, watching the numbers tick higher, desperately wishing she were anywhere else.

"I told Amy after it happened."

"Is that your wife?'

"She was. But after I told her the truth, we…I just couldn't lie to one more person."

"Congratulations, Chuck. How admirable of you. Confessing adultery- there should be medals for that."

"You were cheating too, Blair!"

"Don't you dare try to turn this around on me!"

"Did you tell James about us?"

She glared at him with hard, dark eyes. "Why do you care?"

"I just know how hard it is to stay in a marriage when you're lying from the start."

"I love my husband. Just because your marriage miserably failed doesn't mean everyone's has to," She looked up at the floors. Two away, "This is our first and last conversation this weekend, Chuck. From now on, I might as well not exist to you, is that clear?"

"That's impossible."

"Then go home." She shoved past him, walking out of the elevator and down the hall.

Chuck heard her heels clicking on the tile as he slumped against the wall, sliding to the ground. Every conversation with Blair always left him feeling grateful he had just survived intact- nothing more, nothing less.

--

Nate sat at the hotel bar, waiting for Chuck. Who knew how long this Blair conversation would last- when those two got into it, they'd fight until one finally surrendered, exhausted and beat to a pulp. Nate would never understand their relationship- how could something that hurt them like that be worth trying to save so many times over?

Deciding that was definitely not his problem, Nate looked around. There was only one good-looking girl. She long platinum blond hair falling to the middle of her back, and was wearing ridiculously tight black jeans and a white sweater. Doing what he most often did when bored, Nate decided to hit on her. He walked over, touching her shoulder and saying in his most smooth voice-

"You look like you need a-"

She spun around, cutting him off.

"Nate!"

"JENNY?"

--

**Well, well. Little J's may be having her triumphant "Sabrina" moment- but could Nate be her Humphrey Bogart? I always did have a feeling about these two…**

**Until dinner then-**

**XOXO**

**Gossip Girl**

**--**


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